No description available.

This thesis proposes that Egyptian tomb painting served as a housing for the Ka. The research examined the relationship between the tomb paintings and the Ka within the contemporary religious literature finding that they served this purpose. The first relationship incorporates the "Opening of the Mouth" ceremony which returns life to the deceased in both the texts and illustrations. The ambiguous nature of the texts refers the returning of life to the deceased. This includes all the parts of the soul (Ka, Ba, and Akh) and all physical and artistic representations. These paintings also support the Ka with depictions of food offerings. A secondary question addresses the identification of the deceased appearing in the paintings. Many variables apply in identification of the deceased. They include hieratic scale, canonical pose, hieroglyphics, accoutrements, and the orientation of the supporting figures. / Department of Anthropology

This study examines ideological discourse in contemporary Egypt. It investigates a number of discourses in terms of the meanings they generate and the role or function they play in the maintenance or transformation of relations of power in society. The analysis is guided by a semiotic view of ideology, that is, ideology understood as a system of representation which operates through language and other signifying practices. / Central to our understanding of the effects of discourse on power relations is the conception of representation as an autonomous level of 'reality' in relation to other levels. The implication of such a conception is that meanings produced in discourse are not to be validated or adequated against the 'real', but are to be analyzed in terms of their interrelations with socio-economic and political structures, and in terms of their appropriation by social forces in positions of struggle. In this sense, it is relevant to look at the rules which govern the formation of the systems of representation; rules which are specific to the discursive formations. Within the framework of this study, the key mechanisms operative in discourse and ideology are validation and interpellation. Throughout the project, attention is paid to the role these mechanisms play in the production of subjects and the construction of subject positions. That is, particular emphasis is put on how ideological interpellations construct or constitute positions of resistance, struggle, domination, acquiesence which are validated or rejected by the receiver. This returns to the process of appropriation of meanings and the functionalization of discourse. / The analysis proceeds through an examination of the narrative and discursive structures of the various discourses under study. It is also concerned with the narrative programs which underlie the discourses as an act or intervention, focusing on the positions of speakers and receivers, the modalization of subject positions and their inscription in relations of power. In treating the Egyptian case, discourses from two socio-political conjunctures are analyzed: one a juncture of populist rupture marked by the consolidation of the revolutionary program, the other a juncture of socio-economic disintegration. / The study examines how the conjunctures manifest themselves in discourse. In this way, an attempt is made to see how the particular conjunctures are marked in the functionalization of certain terms and the imposition of certain ideologemes. The work seeks to demonstrate how this is linked to the appropriation of discourse by social forces. With regard to the first juncture, the discursive and narrative structures which underlie the nationalist discourse are identified. Within the later conjuncture, these structures are revealed in relation to the Islamist discourse, while an analysis of the secular discourse is also carried out. The general objective is to situate the process of the construction of meanings in relation to the socio-economic and political conditions which exist in the particular junctures of discourse production.

The phenomenon of street children is world-wide and on the increase despite numerous programs aiming at its eradication. The failure to adequately address this complex and very diverse phenomenon is the result of conceptual confusion with respect to defining who a street child is. The dominant discourse on street children defines them as victims or deviants to be rescued and rehabilitated. As such, the capacity of many of these children for human agency is occluded by excluding them from participation in the construction of solutions to their problems. I argue that, far from being mere victims and deviants, these kids, in running away from alienating structures and finding relative freedom in the street, often become autonomous and are capable of actively defining their situations in their own terms. They are able to challenge the roles assigned to children, make judgements and develop a network of niches in the heart of the metropolis in order to resist exclusion and chronic repression. I further argue that for research and action with street kids to be emancipatory, it is necessary to acknowledge and respect the human agency the kids display in changing their own lives and to capitalize on their voluntary participation in non-formal educational activities as well as in collective advocacy. / The thesis draws on a participatory action research (PAR) methodology spanning eight years of fieldwork with street kids in Cairo, which eclectically combined street ethnography, street work and action science. I critically review the historical development of these methodologies, and I argue for a conception of PAR as an open-ended process of action and reflective participatory research incorporated into everyday activities and work with excluded, marginalized and oppressed groups such as street kids. As such, I pay special attention to the ethical dilemmas that arise in day-to-day PAR practice.

Zugl.: Heidelberg, Univ., Diss., 1977.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Pennsylvania, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 417-429) and index.

This thesis studies how three Greek writers differentiate between each other in their texts about ancient Egypt. The three writers included in this thesis are Herodotus, Diodorus Siculus and Plutarch. Their texts describe Egypt and its many aspects, and the names of their texts are as following; Histories and Library of History by Herodotus and Diodorus, and De Herodoti malignitate, De Iside et Osiride and Placita Philosophorum by Plutarch.        This thesis is comparing these writers with each other using two case studies; The Nile and Egyptian cleanness for their gods. The case studies were chosen to limit this thesis upon two aspects of Egypt that the writers should have encountered if they went to Egypt. This brings a theory to light; if the writers' texts are truthfully representing Egypt or if their texts are nothing but literature constructions. This thesis is also looking at how Egyptians are portrayed by the writers with use of the theory the other.        By reading the texts and modern literature about the writers a conclusion is made. The writers are different from each other in their descriptions of Egypt. Herodotus and Diodorus view Egypt as a wonderful land with a wonderful culture. Plutarch is also portraying Egypt with respect as Herodotus and Diodorus but does at the same time view Egypt with a more negative view. This is because Plutarch believes that the Greek culture is the foremost culture in the world.        A problem with all the writers’ texts is based upon that they did not speak ancient Egyptian and could therefore not make use of all the sources presented to them. Herodotus is viewed to not even have visited Egypt. Their texts are to be looked at with a grain of salt even though they clearly tried to represent Egypt as well as they could in their texts. Their texts are to be view as a literature construction simply because the writers did not understand Egyptian and therefore relied on earlier texts about Egypt made in Greek.

No description available.

No description available.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil Engineering, 1980. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ENGINEERING. / Includes bibliographical references. / by Tarek Mohamed Selim. / M.S.